


What Could Have Been

by ComingandGoingByBubble



Category: A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder - Lutvak/Freedman
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-04
Updated: 2016-03-05
Packaged: 2018-05-11 19:38:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5639515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ComingandGoingByBubble/pseuds/ComingandGoingByBubble
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It all starts with a simple text from Monty: Hey. Can we go shopping today? I'll pick you up at eleven.<br/>Monty x Sibella angst, Monty x Phoebe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

She gets a text from him in the morning, the message's notification waking her up. She opens her eyes just in time to see his name, Monty Navarro, scrawl across her screen before her hand reaches out and punches in her passcode to see what he has written her.

It says:

_Hey. Can we go shopping today? I'll pick you up at eleven._

The blonde woman smiles at the message, and bites her lip carefully, wondering how she should reply. She knows that seeing another man while she is married is considered wrong, even in this day and age, but her curiosity and devotion to Monty get the best of her.

She glances over at Lionel, who is dead asleep and quickly types her answer.

_Sure. What are we shopping for?_

Her heart beats in excitement, ever since Monty had gotten engaged to Phoebe, he had been spending less time with Sibella, which was understandable but the blonde was still hurt by the lack of attention.

She realizes that she has to be careful but lately she misses Monty more than she can say and this text message makes her smile at the anticipation of seeing him again.

She gets up quickly and grabs a shower, the hot water beating down on her makes her realize that the text message is not some imagined fantasy, that it's real and that she's going to see Monty again today.

She's more excited than she should be.

A smile stays across her face as she gets dressed in a pale pink sundress. She puts white heels on her feet, and grabs her sunglasses and purse before reaching for her phone once more.

She glances at the screen while she descends down the stairs into the kitchen.

_Jewelry for Phoebe and other stuff. You're the same size as her and I want to surprise her with some gifts for her birthday._

Sibella immediately stops mid stair, nearly tripping and falling down the staircase. Her heart freezes and she feels a lump start to form in her throat.

Phoebe.

Of course, how could she have been so stupid? He's devoted to Phoebe, of course he's going to go shopping for her. He just needs Sibella to try stuff on. He's using her as a model.

Her eyes start to turn misty and she swallows the lump in her throat and wipes at her eyes.

She finishes descending down the stairs and sits down in the kitchen, trying to focus on her breathing. She grips the table hard, hating the fact that she was married to Lionel.

Another text message pops up, distracting her from her anger.

It's from Monty again.

_You don't have to if you don't want to. I'd understand._

She stares at it for a few moments, contemplating her answer. On one hand she has half the mind to tell him to shove off and leave her alone, him being so presumptuous to ask her to be his model for Phoebe. On the other, she knows he values her opinion and wants to spend time with her.

She sighs and then types:

_No, I'll come. See you in a half an hour._

She leaves it at that, placing her phone face down on the table and goes into the bathroom to do her hair and makeup.

* * *

At eleven, she waits on the couch and looks out the window for his car. When he finally arrives she gets up and grabs her purse, leaving a note for Lionel on the table that reads:

Out shopping. Will be back for dinner. Sibella.

She opens the door and then locks it, afterwards making her way to the car. He opens the passenger door for her from inside the car.

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate this, Sibella," he greets her with a smile.

She bites her lip and smiles back reluctantly.

"It's no problem, darling. I'm just glad to spend some time with you," she answers as she gets into the seat and buckles her seatbelt. "Shall we go?"

Monty smiles and they head off to the mall.

"What about this, can you try this one on?" Monty asks her, holding out another necklace.

Sibella whips around and looks at it. "Does Phoebe even like necklaces, darling?" she asks him. She takes the piece of jewelry and clasps it around her neck, admiring it in the mirror.

"I'm not sure," says Monty, he looks befuddled at the whole ordeal of buying jewelry after they had just been through the disastrous fiasco of trying to buy clothes, "She just said she'd like some new jewelry for her birthday."

"It's pretty nevertheless," she remarks as her fingers run across the purple stones, feeling the smoothness of them.

"I don't think it's right for her," he sighs and he takes back the necklace and puts it on the stand. He looks around at the store. "What about rings?"

Sibella's heart freezes at that. She swallows hard and avoids his eyes as she glances at some bracelets in the far corner of the store.

"What?" she asks, pretending that she didn't hear him. She turns around, her skirt spinning as she did so.

"Rings," he repeats looking at her. "Girls like rings right?"

She laughs at his limited knowledge of the female species.

"Most girls like rings. Did she like the one you gave to her when you asked her to marry you?"

"I think so," Monty frowns, "I can't remember exactly."

She scoffs at him, "Men and their selective memories," she walks past him towards the ring section.

He follows her and smiles at her. "Does Lionel have a selective memory?" he asks, and though he does it without knowing it, he hits a cord within her.

Her lips pucker and she feels a stab at her heart.

"Why are you so interested in Lionel?" she asks, as she points out to a salesperson the one she wants to try on.

Her eyes narrow at his sudden interest in her husband.

"Well, he is your husband, and I barely know anything about him other than he's rich, handsome and has an antique motorcar."

Monty smiles at her, trying to tell her that he was just poking good fun.

She does not see it that way, and she bites her lip hard and ignores him while the salesperson gets the ring and slips in on her finger. Her eyes narrow and shine with a dangerous glare that tells him to drop the subject.

She glances at the ring, and her anger vanishes slightly. It really is beautiful. Phoebe would love it, no question asked about that.

She turns and shows Monty, though her face still tells him that she is mad at him.

Her eyes glint with that cold anger in them. She does not want to talk about her husband, not here, not now. She does not want to be reminded that she is married to Lionel.

"You shouldn't concern yourself with my husband, you know all you need to know about him," she says softly.

He looks up at her and she gives him a small smile, against her will. Her eyes lose their anger.

Every time he looks at her, she melts. She can't help it. She's devoted to him, drawn to him. She can't even stay mad at him for long.

"And yes, he does," she adds, and he smiles back at her, knowing that he is forgiven.

"Have you two picked a date yet?" asks the salesperson from behind the counter. "You are quite the attractive couple," she says, obviously having not been listening to what they were saying earlier.

Both of them blush. Sibella runs a hand through her hair, and glances down at her feet. Monty looks at the salesperson and stammers, "No, no I think you misunderstand we're not- what I mean is-" he fumbles over his words.

Sibella looks up, "We're not together," she states firmly.

The salesperson immediately starts apologizing but they tell her it's fine.

"So what do you think?" asks the blonde, looking at Monty, pretending as though that encounter with the salesgirl never happened.

He glances down at the ring. "It's beautiful," he says softly.

She swallows hard. He takes her hand in his to inspect it closely.

Sibella's heartbeat quickens. She bites her lip again, nearly drawing blood this time. She wishes that they were getting married, she wishes that she could be the one that Monty was buying jewelry for.

She wishes for a lot of things but those involving Monty are the ones she wants to come true the most.

"I'll take it," he says smiling at her.

She forces herself to smile back and return to reality.

Her own wedding ring, the one Lionel gave her, seems to be crushing her finger, weighing her down in that moment. She feels as though it burns her, a constant reminder of the choice, the wrong choice, she made in marrying Lionel.

She takes off the ring for Phoebe and gives it to him, and the next few moments are blurry and out of focus for her as she lets her mind wander, pondering over her fate of being stuck with Lionel.

She wishes she had married Monty in this moment so much, she feels as though it's killing her that she didn't.

Monty embracing her in a hug is what brings her back to the real world. She hugs him back, after the shock wears off, and she finds herself smelling him and closing her eyes as they hug, taking him in.

She wants nothing more than to stay locked in his arms for the rest of her life.

She nearly starts crying.

She's excited for Monty, of course how could she not be. Phoebe's a charming and lovely girl and he is so happy with her. But she hates herself for ruining her chances of happiness over something so stupid as Monty.

She could have been so happy with him. She was always happy with him whenever they spent time together.

He pulls away then and it feels like a slap to her face.

"Are you alright?" he asks her, and she hasn't even realized that he had been looking at her worriedly.

She collects herself and nods.

"I'm fine."

"I can't thank you enough, Sibs," he says as they walk out of the store, the bag in his hand. "I mean it, you're a true friend."

He kisses her cheek, and she wishes he had missed and kissed her lips instead.

She smiles at him, pretending like nothing was wrong.

"Of course, I'm happy to help."

He smiles back at her.

"She's going to love this ring, I would have never have found it on my own, what would I do without you, Sibella?" he asks as he takes her hand in his.

Her heart freezes again and this time when he lets go, she feels a coldness and emptiness in her.

"You probably would have ended up buying that hideous scarf," she says laughing though her laugh is cold and harsh.

He laughs too, and her heart aches at the sound.

"You're probably right, it really was awful wasn't it?" he smiles.

She nods and they finally make it to his spot in the parking lot.

"You're invited to the party, you know?" he adds as he slips into the driver's seat. She sits beside him on the passenger side.

"Oh, I am?" she asks, glancing at her phone as she pulls it out of her purse, trying to avoid looking at him in fear that her heart might actually explode from heartbreak.

"Of course you are, you've been such a help to both of us these past couple of months, and besides, Phoebe has something she wants to ask you." He turns on the engine and starts driving back to her house.

She nearly drops her phone at the last part.

"What?" She looks at him, her stomach in her throat.

"No, no I promised her that I wouldn't give it away, she has to ask you," says Monty firmly, his eyes on the road, though he did glance at her a few times.

"Don't be frightened," he continues, "It's nothing to worry about. I do hope you say yes."

Her heart sinks as she guesses at what the question could be.

"When is the party?" she asks in a soft, hollow voice.

"Next Saturday, our house, one o'clock," he answers.

She nods, absentmindedly, hardly realizing that she was doing so. She spends the rest of the car ride silent and numb, in her own little world.

* * *

He drops her off, thanking her once more. She enters the house with her mind running a mile a minute. She feels dizzy, almost sick and she wishes that she had said no this morning to his request.

Lionel glances at her from the couch.

"How was shopping?" he asks but she does not answer him.

Instead she runs upstairs and sits down on her bed, biting back tears.

After a while, she has the gall to look at her phone which is riddled with messages from Monty.

_Thanks for the day out, I am in your debt._

_Phoebe wants you to come over early for the party to help set up, is that okay?_

_Should I wrap the box?_

_Never mind I decided to wrap it._

She glances at all of the messages with a bittersweet smile, and an ache in her heart.

She doesn't answer any of them, and instead she turns over her phone and sets it down by her bedside, determined to deal with it all tomorrow.

She shuts off the light and climbs into bed, pulling up the covers over herself and falls asleep with the lingering hope that maybe when she wakes up she'll be married to Monty and this will have been all a hellish nightmare.


	2. Chapter 2

She arrives at Monty and Phoebe's house with her heart in her stomach, feeling sick as she looks upon the house; a simple two floor house with a basement covered in dark green paint and flowers blooming all around it.

She parks her car in the driveway, and sits in it for a moment. After the disastrous day of shopping with Monty, Sibella is dreading going to this party.

She does not know if she can face him or Phoebe, not when she clearly can't keep her true feelings for Monty a secret. It's a recipe for disaster.

Finally she gets out of the car sighing as she does so, grabs the present for Phoebe, and makes her way towards the front door.

* * *

It opens and Phoebe greets her enthusiastically, pulling her in for a hug.

"Hello! Oh, I'm so glad you could come early, it means so much to me," trilled the brunette happily.

Phoebe is dressed in a sleek bright blue dress with black high heels. Her hair is down around her shoulders in soft curls. She looks pretty, beautiful.

Sibella glances down at her white skirt with her light pink top, and feels small in comparison, even if she is taller than Phoebe in her white high heels. She plays with a stray piece of hair that has fallen out of place from her bun.

She bits her lip and wishes that she had worn a different outfit for she did not expect for this party to be so chic.

Sibella parts her lips to speak when Phoebe gasps.

Her eyes open wide when they land on the present Sibella has in her hands.

"Is that for me?" she asks in a high pitched, excited voice, before Sibella has a moment to get a word in otherwise, "Oh, I'll take that and put it right here," she says taking the present and putting it down a table.

"Oh, do come in, Sibella dear," she calls as she realizes that the blonde is still out on the porch.

Sibella enters the house and is amazed at how decorative it is. She walks through it slowly, glancing at all of the pictures on the wall of Phoebe and Monty together, of various flowers in a garden, and of Monty's mother and members of Phoebe's family.

"Your house is so lovely," she comments with a smile.

Phoebe pokes her head out from the kitchen and smiles, "Thank you, darling. I had so much fun decorating it when we first moved in. It's quite homey, at least I think so."

Sibella looks at her and walks into the kitchen, seeing that Phoebe already has everything mostly all set for the party. It is all laid out on the table in the dining room.

Sibella wonders why they asked her to come over early.

"How can I help?" she asks, and then she looks around, "And where is Monty?"

Phoebe carries another tray of food to the table before answering her.

"Monty went out to go get some more champagne," she explains over her shoulder. She then turns and faces Sibella with a smile. "And yes, you can help," she says gesturing for the blonde to take a seat on the couch in the living room.

The blonde sits down on the couch, and after washing her hands, Phoebe comes to sit next to her.

Sibella is confused. She grows agitated and wonders what in the world Phoebe wants to talk to her about.

"What's this about, Phoebe?" she asks, wishing now that she hadn't come.

"Well, Monty told you that I had a question to ask you, and I wanted to ask you it now, and that's how you can help me today," explains Phoebe with a bright and warm smile.

The blonde's smile looks fake in comparison. She wonders what the brunette will ask of her.

"Oh?" is all she can manage.

Phoebe takes Sibella's hands in her own, and Sibella feels her heart race at a thousand beats per second.

A blush rises to her face.

"Phoebe what is-"but the other woman cuts her off.

"I want you to be my maid of honor," she states with a hopeful expression, her eyes bright, and her lips smiling.

Sibella feels her heart plummet into her stomach. She stares at Phoebe in shock, her words rebounding in her head like a broken record.

"What?" she has to ask because she is afraid she didn't hear her right.

Phoebe just laughs and holds Sibella's hands tighter. The blonde feels as though she can't breathe.

"I want you to be my maid of honor, Monty does too, we both do," says Phoebe, again with that warm smile on her face. "I didn't want to cause a fuss at the party so I figured having you over here early would give us some time alone so I could ask you this. I do hope you say yes, you've been such a good friend to Monty and myself, I couldn't dream of asking anyone else."

Sibella tries to swallow and thinks of a few other people besides herself that would be qualified for the position but she does not say their names.

"I-I" the blonde starts to say but Phoebe cuts her off again with her nervous chatter.

"Oh, dear see now I've gone and made you uncomfortable," she apologizes, "I'm sorry, Monty is always reminding me to be tactful about these things, it's just… there's no one else I'd rather have as my maid of honor, Sibella. You're a dear friend," says Phoebe as she kisses Sibella's cheek. "You don't have to get back to me right now, you can tell me your answer later."

Sibella looks at her, mouth open, her complexion pale. This is the last thing she has expected Phoebe to ask of her. She had thought she would have been consulted about the cake for the party or some other trivial affair, but this- this was important, this showed that Monty and Phoebe trust her.

And she knows that they shouldn't, they shouldn't trust her at all.

Even though she thinks on those factors, she can't stop her mouth from going off and saying, "Of course I'll do it."

Her hearts knows she has made a grave mistake.

Phoebe's face lights up with joy.

"You will!" she cries as they both hear the front door open and Monty comes into the living room to see them after putting away the champagne.

"Did she say yes?" he asks Phoebe smiling even before he knows the answer.

Phoebe wraps her arms around Sibella in a tight hug. "Yes, she did," she says joyously.

Sibella smiles weakly in response. Monty laughs and comes over to hug her. She stands and they hug.

In that moment, she is back in the store when Monty hugged her. She finds herself closing her eyes again and taking in his scent, liking how safe and loved she feels in his arms.

His polo shirt smells fresh and clean. He looks nice, handsome if she dares to say so herself.

She pulls away first, before him, trying to snap herself out of it.

She's going to be their maid of honor, she cannot act this way.

Her face is blank, her mind buzzing with various emotions.

"Sibella?" inquires Monty looking at her curiously, "Are you alright?"

She looks up at him and smiles, faking that everything is okay.

"Yes, yes I'm fine, it's just I have a lot of planning to do," she says softly.

He smiles at her and hugs her again, and she wishes nothing more than to be swallowed up by the ground in that moment.

"We really appreciate this, Sibs," he whispers in her ear. "You have no idea. You're the only one we wanted for the job, and I know you'll be great at it. It means a lot to us, to Phoebe, to me that you're doing this, I only wish I could have reciprocated for your wedding," he smiles at her.

She looks up at him.

"It's quite alright," she says as she steps back from him and watches as Phoebes goes into the other room to check up on everything, "I just-" but as soon as the words leave her mouth the doorbell rings.

"I'll get it," he yells and he puts a hand on Sibella's shoulder, giving her a small smile before he leaves to greet the rest of his guests.

She stands there with a heavy heart.

She knows she shouldn't be doing this but she can't change her answer now.

She smiles politely as the guests file in. She spends the rest of the party in her thoughts, occasionally smiling and frivolously chatting away with the other guests while drinking more champagne and wine than she should have been.

* * *

"Did you have a good time?" Monty asks her as she's just about to step outside from the stairs.

He comes down them and stands inches away from her on the porch.

She turns and forces a smile on her face.

"Yes, it was a lovely party. I'm so glad Phoebe enjoyed her present."

He steps towards her and catches her by the hand, drawing her attention towards him.

"You're not leaving now, are you?" he asks, his face disappointed.

She holds up her phone with a sheepish look.

"Lionel does expect me to be home at some point today rather than tomorrow," she says a bit sharply.

Truth be told there is no text from Lionel, she just wants desperately to get out of the situation she's put herself into.

"Stay for another few minutes, please," Monty begs.

She glances up at him and sighs, he has that pouting face on and he's batting his eyelashes rapidly trying to appear sincere and make her feel as guilty as possible for trying to leave.

"Montague, that's not going to work, not this time. I really need to get home," she lies. She tries to pull her hand out of his grasp and he lets her, looking extremely disappointed as he does so.

"But Phoebe wants to talk with you about plans," he reminds her.

"I'll call her tomorrow, after I get some sleep," she says as she makes her way down the steps.

"Sibella!"

She turns around and he kisses her on the mouth. To say she is startled is an understatement.

As soon as they pull away, her mind buzzes with how she is going to yell at him, scold him for what he's just done, but in that moment she cannot find the words and an empty silence falls between them.

"Thank you," he says, "For everything. For helping out me with the shopping, for agreeing to be Phoebe's maid of honor, it all just means a lot."

She takes a moment before answering him for she can see in his eyes that he's sincere.

"You kissed me," she says slowly, hoping that he'll realize the error of his ways though she wants nothing more than to kiss him again.

"It was a thank you kiss, Sibella," he says shrugging his shoulders, "Nothing more. Why do you look so worried about it?"

"I-well- I mean what about-Phoebe will be-"she stutters.

"Phoebe doesn't mind, and besides Sibella we're just friends. You're acting as if I just asked you to sleep with me the day after my honeymoon. Relax, maybe you should go home and get some rest," he says, taking her hand again.

He pauses. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I didn't mean to."

"You kissed me on the lips," she says in a hollow voice, averting her eyes from his.

"You moved, I meant to kiss your cheek," he says simply.

"I-I what?" she asks, her eyes snapping up to meet his.

He smiles.

"I said you moved. You tilted your head at a weird angle when you turned around."

She doesn't believe him but she nods anyway. "Oh."

He kisses the back of her hand gently, softly and she finds herself biting her lip, fighting the feelings she has for him back into the deep abyss where no one can find them.

"Phoebe's so excited that you said yes, you know," he says as he lets go of her hand.

She smiles at him tiredly.

"She told me at least five times tonight how excited she was, yes."

She shifts her weight from one leg to the other as she repositions herself and crosses her arms over her chest.

Monty takes notice.

"You were quiet tonight, I hope we didn't impose too much on you to be the maid of honor."

"No, no, Monty that's not it," she says softly. "I'm happy to do it."

"What's wrong?" he asks her, his eyes imploring, "Sibella, you can tell me."

She takes in a deep breath.

She knows what she wants to say, which is: I'm in love with you and it's killing me that you're marrying Phoebe while I'm stuck with Lionel, I've always loved you and now I'll live the rest of my life in utter regret for being so stupid for saying no when you asked me to marry you, and now I'm doomed to be your best friend who only wants you to be happy.

Instead she says: "Nothing's wrong. I'm just really tired and I really should be getting home."

She glances at her phone, pretending to see a text message and looks up at him.

"See, now Lionel's getting worried, I really need to get going."

Monty nods. She takes a few steps away from him.

"Sibella!" he calls out with her back turned towards him.

"You're not going to kiss me again, are you?" she yells back, smiling against her will.

"No, I promise. That was a sincere mistake," he says.

She turns around and looks at him.

He comes closer to her.

"Phoebe and I wanted to give you this, as a token of our appreciation for you saying yes to be our maid of honor," he says as he pulls something out of his back pocket.

She watches as he unfolds his hands to reveal one of those sparkling bracelets she had seen in the store that she had liked so much.

"I saw you glancing at them in the store, so I went back on Wednesday and got it for you," Monty says with a warm smile on his face.

Her heart stops, and times freezes in that instant.

She is touched, moved, and she wants to say so many things in that moment to him.

She takes the bracelet and slips it onto her wrist, all without saying a word. She stares at the piece of jewelry and then back at Monty.

"Thank you," she whispers with a genuine smile on her face.

This time he kisses her cheek.

"Goodnight Sibella, thank you for coming. I'll text you about when we can meet to plan things."

She nods.

"Goodnight Monty."

She starts to walk back to her car, trying to hold in her tears.

"Tell Lionel he's also invited to the wedding, we'll be sending out invitations in a few weeks," he yells out to her.

She nods, and nearly starts crying right then and there but she holds it in until she gets out of the driveway, drives halfway down the street and then pulls over.

She wrenches off the bracelet and clutches it in her hand, nearly causing the pattern to ident into her skin.

She knows he means well, she knows he thinks of her as a friend but he once thought of her as a lover, as an everything and she just can't let that go.

She wonders if Monty knows how much pain he causes her. Does he know how much he breaks her heart every time he tries to act like nothing happened between them, like they were never anything?

It kills her to have him be so sweet to her, to have him be so kind and affectionate. He is so friendly and happy towards her, and she, she sometimes is bitter and angry.

She hates him but more importantly she hates herself for letting this carry on for this long. She should have left the country when she had the chance, to save herself from this misery and heartbreak.

She knows she should go back to Monty and Phoebe's and tell them that she refuses, that it is the sensible and moral thing to do since she's hopelessly in love with the groom but for some reason she doesn't.

Instead she starts the car back up again and wipes away her tears. Before pulling away from the side of the road, she slips the bracelet back onto her wrist and takes a deep breath.

She blasts the radio and drives fast, hoping that maybe she can drown out her sorrow with loud music.

* * *

It doesn't help and when she gets home, she feels like collapsing to the floor and sobbing.

Lionel kisses her cheek as she walks in the door.

"How was the party?" he asks, "Sorry I missed it. That business meeting was important though."

"The party was fine," she answers weakly as she puts down her purse.

There is a beat of silence.

"They asked me to be their maid of honor," she continues.

"Did they?" asks Lionel as they both go up the stairs and into their bedroom.

"I said yes," she says softly as she changes into her nightgown, tying her hair into a ponytail.

"So we have another event to attend this year," says Lionel with a sigh.

She nods and he says nothing more of it. She plugs her phone into her charger and turns it over, and climbs into bed.

"Where did you get that?" asks Lionel suddenly pointing to her wrist.

She blushes, beating herself up that she forgot to take it off beforehand. She gets up and places the bracelet amongst her other pieces of jewelry.

"Monty and Phoebe gave it to me as a thank you present for being the maid of honor."

Lionel huffs at that.

"I don't like you being so close to Monty Navarro," he says at last.

She looks at him as she gets back into bed.

"And why not?"

He pauses and licks his lips.

"Because I get the feeling you're still not over him," he says at last.

She laughs it off, though he is dead on with his observation. She gives him that, Lionel was keenly observant, nothing went over his head.

"That's ridiculous," she pulls the covers over herself.

"Is it?" he challenges.

She bits her lip and says nothing. She snaps her light off with a flick of her fingers.

"I rest my case," he says softly before turning off his light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part three should be up within the following week! Thank you all for your support!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three:

The happy couple says “I do,” and Sibella’s heart feels like it’s shattering into a million pieces.

She plasters a smile onto her face anyways and claps along with the rest of the guests as the newly married couple kiss and descend back down the aisle.

Sibella feels as though she’s moving in slow motion, watching as they all pile into the reception room and she takes her seat next to Lionel.

She grabs her glass of champagne and downs it quickly before grabbing another, trying to dull the ache in her heart.

She watches Monty and Phoebe greet the guests with a bitter taste in her mouth. She’s happy for them, of course, she’s the maid of honor. She has to be happy for them. But deep down she hates it, hates that they’re happy, hates that they get to be together.

She downs another drink.

Lionel notices.

  “Shouldn’t you be pacing yourself, you do remember you have to make a speech soon?” he reminds her.

She pauses mid sip, and swallows slowly.

  “Right, right,” she says as she lowers her glass to the table and moves it away from her reach.

Lionel looks at her worriedly, “Are you going to be able to be coherent?”

 “I’ll be fine.” Her voice has a bite to it and Lionel notices.

  “Maybe after all of this is over we’ll head out to the country side and take a vacation,” he says slowly, looking at her.

Her gaze isn’t on him, it’s on Monty and Phoebe. Her lips purse, her face tightens, and Lionel sees the anger and hurt flash in her eyes.

  “Sibella, did you hear me?” he questions.

There is a pause before she answers.

  “You said something about a vacation to the countryside, I think that may do us some good,” she says at last.

She knows he just wants her away from Monty, away from all of this heartbreak she is suffering from. Maybe a vacation will do her some good, at least for a little while.

She is caught off guard when Monty comes over to her and hugs her tightly, he himself already too drunk, not from the wine but from happiness.

She smiles at him, though it pains her to do so.

  “Sibs,” he says as he lets her go and grins at her, his face radiating with happiness and excitement, “Are you ready to do your toast?” he asks.

She bites her lip carefully, “Of course I am,” she lies without glancing back at her husband.

  “Great, I’ll go make the announcement now,” says Monty with a smile as he dashes back to the table.

She gulps in fear. Then she smooths out her pale purple dress with a hand, takes one last sip of her drink and makes her way to where Phoebe and Monty are sitting.

Phoebe smiles at her and comes to give her a great big hug before she starts. The blonde is already a bit tipsy by now but she manages to fake that she is sober long enough so that Phoebe doesn’t pick up on it.

  “I’m so happy you’re doing this,” says Phoebe smiling brightly as she looks at Sibella, “I can’t tell you how grateful I am to you. You’ve been so much help, it all went so perfectly and it was all because of you.”

  “Oh, you’re too kind, Phoebe really. The night is still young, I could still ruin everything,” the blonde says half-jokingly.

Phoebe laughs heartily and hugs Sibella once more, “But I know you won’t.”

Sibella smiles nervously at her. She takes in how she looks, Phoebe really does look splendid, absolutely beautiful in that dress.

Suddenly the blonde’s anxiety heightens about the speech, and she finds her face growing pale.

Phoebe takes her hand and holds it tightly. “Don’t be nervous now. Just be yourself,” she encourages as she goes back to sit in her seat and Monty hands Sibella a microphone.

As all eyes settle on her, Sibella clears her throat and glances down at the hastily scribbled speech she has prepared.

She bites her lip before she starts.

“Hello everyone, as you know I’m Sibella Holland and I’m the maid of honor tonight so I will be giving the first toast. I first met Monty when we were children and we were always so close and the best of friends. But tonight I had the pleasure of being here to witness his marriage to Phoebe, a woman who he truly loves and adores and-“ she pauses and feels her chest tightening with regret and anger at herself.

She wishes she could be married to Monty. She wishes with all of her heart that she could be Mrs. Navarro.

She takes a moment and recollects herself.

  “I couldn’t imagine him with a better woman,” she adds “Phoebe is kind, gentle, caring, and so beautiful. They are so happy together, and they truly deserve each other.”

She hands the microphone back to Monty though she had more written down on the paper. She crumples it up in her hand and walks back to the table as the guests applaud after receiving hugs and thank you’s from Monty and Phoebe.

She sits down at the table and reaches for another glass when she feels Lionel’s hand stop her.

She glares at him, murder in her eyes, and he lets go, if only in fear of what would happen if he didn’t.

After the other toast finishes and couples start to crowd the dancefloor, Sibella sneaks out through the back door for some fresh air.

Having drunk way more than she knows she should have, she trips and stumbles over the pavement until she finds herself sitting against the wall of the church’s exterior. She doesn’t care that her dress is dirty or that it has started to rain.

She lets herself cry for a moment before she notices that she had put on the bracelet that Monty and Phoebe had given her this morning. She takes it off and looks at it before dissolving into tears once more at the thought of her Monty being married to Phoebe. She then slips in back onto her wrist in spite of herself.

She is happy for him, she meant every word of her speech but she can’t help but feel as though she ruined her life by not marrying Monty. She is so wretchedly unhappy with Lionel that she would give anything to be Monty’s wife and the thought of not being his wife is killing her.

Suddenly a voice calls out.

  “Sibs? Is that you?”

Immediately Sibella knows that whoever is calling for her is not Lionel. He has never once called her Sibs or anything but “Dearest” or “Sibella.”

The person moves closer to her, an umbrella concealing their face. They kneel down next to her, their knees just barely hitting the ground.

She looks up and sees Monty, and she dissolves into tears once more.

  “What are you doing out here in the rain? You’re going to catch your death if you stay out here,” he warns her.

He takes a good look at her face, and his expression changes.

  “What’s wrong?” he asks seriously, moving the umbrella so that she is also shielded from the rain.

She looks at him helplessly, not able to tell him how she feels for in fear of ruining the entire wedding.

His face grows even more concerned when Sibella says nothing. He reaches out and wipes away her tears gently.

  “Is it Lionel?” he asks, “Did he say something that upset you?”

She shakes her head as she sniffles.

 Monty pauses, trying to think of what could be upsetting her.

  “Then what is it?” he asks gently, giving up on his ideas.

Her bottom lip trembles and she hiccups before she speaks.

  “Just-just read what I wrote for the rest of the speech,” she says, handing him the crumpled up piece of paper that she had been clenching for the past twenty minutes.

Monty looks shocked and a bit nervous. He unfolds and smooths out the paper and begins to read it.

_The truth is that I’m not truly happy for Monty and Phoebe, though it pains me to say it for they are both so dear to me._

_In truth, I love Monty and with every passing day that I am not his wife, I die inside. It kills me to see him be so happy with Phoebe, to buy her jewelry and organize parties for her._

_I want to be his wife, I want to be Mrs. Navarro._

_But I know I never will be. So tonight I’ll just smile and laugh, and pretend like I’m alright when every time I look at Monty my heart breaks into another million pieces._

  “I wrote that a week ago when I was drunk and angry and upset,” she explains after a moment of silence passes between them, “I never planned on reading it but I never came up with anything better.”

She glances up at him nervously when he does not say a word.

  “And now I’ve gone and ruined everything,” she whispers, more to herself than to Monty.

His eyes connect with hers now, and her breath hitches as she waits to hear what he has to say.

  “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” is all he asks as he holds out a hand and helps her to her feet.

A trembling grin appears on her face, if only to try and conceal the utter heartbreak she is feeling at this moment.

  “How could I? All you talked about was Phoebe this and Phoebe that, and besides Monty, I’m married to Lionel so what difference does it make?”

She pauses.

  “And besides, after this Lionel and I are going to the country for a while, to get away from things, so you probably will never have to see me again.”

He takes her hand, which is cold and still wet from the rain.

  “I don’t want you to go.”

She eyes him suspiciously, and lets a laugh escape her lips.

  “Whatever do you mean? Monty, what are you saying-“

  “I don’t want you to go.”

She swallows.

  “But what about Phoebe- the wedding….”

  “I love Phoebe, but I also love you,” his hands comes up to caress her cheek and wipe away the last of her tears.

She takes a step back from him, her eyebrows furrowing.

  “Monty, you can’t love two people.”

  “Who says so?” he challenges.

  “It simply isn’t done…”

  “Why not?”

She tries to think of one concrete answer but her words fail her. She is soon distracted by Monty pressing his lips to hers.

After a moment, he pulls away, and she stares at him, dumbfounded.

  “Come live with Phoebe and me,” he begs her.

She doesn’t answer.

Just then, the church door opens once more and there’s Phoebe, standing in her beautiful white dress.

Sibella wishes the ground would swallow her up at this moment.

  “What’s going on?” she looks genuinely concerned after taking a good look at Sibella, who is under Monty’s umbrella but still soaking wet.

Monty turns to her.

  “Darling, can you please tell Sibella that we’d happily take her in at our house if she wants to divorce Lionel?”

Sibella is shocked at how abrupt and blunt he is with her. She half expects Phoebe to faint at such a suggestion and insinuation.

But instead, Phoebe smiles.

  “Of course we would,” Phoebe comes out from inside and runs underneath the umbrella to join them.

She takes Sibella’s hand in her own.

  “Sibella, you are so very dear to both of us,” says the brunette, “We would be happy to take you in.”

For a moment, Sibella isn’t sure if Phoebe understands what Monty is actually asking of her. She bites her lip, not wanting to tell her but not wanting to lie to her either.

  “It’s not as simple as all that,” she gets out in a choked voice.

Phoebe’s grip on her hand tightens.

  “And why is that?” she asks, glancing at Sibella with an attentive look.

The blonde pauses for a moment.

Monty hands her the crumpled up speech. Phoebe glances down, scanning over it.

Sibella exchanges a glance with Monty, wondering what in the world he is thinking by doing this. She wants to shout at him, tell him he’s ruining his marriage, that Phoebe will never consent to a marriage/relationship that has three people in it.

Finally Phoebe looks up, and instead of the scowl that Sibella is anticipating to see, there is a gentle smile.

Apparently Sibella does not hide her confusion well on her face for Phoebe glances at her and laughs slightly.

  “Oh, Sibella, do you really think I didn’t know you were in love with Monty?” she asks, her voice light and not angry.

The blonde does not know how to answer that.

  “I-I thought- but I’m ruining your marriage and –“

Phoebe cuts her off.

  “Sibella, Monty and I have already talked about this. Neither of us are against having you live with us, but only if you want to.”

Sibella’s jaw drops.

  “What?” she asks, afraid she’s heard her wrong.

Phoebe takes her hand, giggling slightly. Monty takes her other.

  “I think you’re going to have to spell it out for her,” says Phoebe to Monty.

The blonde glances to Monty, who is smiling at her.

  “Sibs,” says Monty after clearing his throat. “Phoebe and I want you to be with us, we want to all be together in a relationship.”

She swallows hard and switches her frantic glances between Phoebe and Monty. For a moment she thinks she’s dreaming. This can’t possibly be true. It was too ridiculous. This could never happen, it could never work-

Phoebe seems to sense her anxiety and she squeezes her hand tightly.

  “You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” she tells her.

Monty kisses her cheek gently.

“We just don’t want you to be unhappy anymore,” he whispers softly.

She looks at him, her face pale, but her heart overflowing with happiness.

  “I-I” she stutters, “do you really mean it? You both want me to be with you?” she asks.

They nod.

Sibella swallows hard once more.

The rain finally stops now, and Monty closes the umbrella.

  “Come back inside,” says Phoebe, “It’s so cold out here.”

She starts to leave.

  “Wait, I haven’t given you my answer yet,” says the blonde.

Phoebe turns back, glances at her and Monty and grins.

  “Oh, but you have, my darling Sibella,” she says, a sparkle in her eye. “You’ve already said yes.”

Sibella realizes that she indeed has, even if she hasn’t spelled it out.

She looks up at Monty, and he smiles.

  “How do you not hate me for doing this? For wanting Monty?” she asks Phoebe.

Phoebe just shrugs her shoulders. “I just don’t. I understand that you love him.”

She leans forward and kisses Sibella’s lips softly.

  “I hope that one day you’ll love me as much as we both love him,” she says wistfully.

Sibella still doesn’t know what to say, so she just nods. Phoebe smiles at her before leaving to go attend to the guests.

Monty lets go of her hand and glances at her.

  “You alright, or have we sprung this on you too fast?” he asks.

She nods. “No, I’m alright, I’m just processing… all of this.”

  He takes a step towards her, and kisses her cheek.

  “What am I going to do about Lionel?” she asks, a bit nervous.

He shakes his head, and caresses her face softly.

  “Don’t you worry about that, I’ll take care of him.”

She looks up at him. He notices that he still has her speech in his hand. He takes it and throws it across the lawn, burying it behind a bush.

Sibella smiles lightly. He kisses her lips this time, just as Phoebe comes out once more.

  “The cake is ready, shall we go in?” she says, smiling.

She steps out of the church again, and grabs onto both of their hands, dragging them towards the door.

Just as they are about to go inside, Sibella pauses. Monty and Phoebe glance back at her.

  “Everything alright?” asks Monty while Phoebe bites on her lip.

The blonde is silent for a moment.

She’s thinking.

Thinking about how uncertain the future is, how messy her divorce from Lionel will be, what horrid backlash she’ll get if her parents ever found out.

She looks up at them, and is immediately comforted by their faces.  In that moment, she forgets about how awful the next few weeks will be. In that moment, all she can think about, and all she wants is Phoebe and Monty.

“That’s what it’s all about,” she thinks to herself. Her heart soars, and a smile spreads across her face. “Being happy and being comfortable is what a marriage, what a relationship is all about.”

They both smile back at her, and in that moment they are frozen in time, standing outside the church, with the sun setting behind them.

It’s a quiet, beautiful moment. One that won’t last very long, but one that proves to all three of them that this will work, that this can work.

  “You ready?” Monty asks of her.

She looks at him and then at Phoebe.

She nods, and they head back inside.

**The End.**

**I'm so happy with how this came out! I hope you all enjoyed it too!! I might write a sequel if I find the time or if there is enough interest for one. Let me know. Until next time!!**

**Author's Note:**

> I will continue this with a part two and maybe a part three if there is enough interest. Thanks for reading!!


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